Rac'in ReCap : ) June 9, 09
#1
06-09-2009, 05:31 AM
Rac'in ReCap : ) June 9, 09
THE BIG STORYNASCAR
, as expected, made a rule change for Sunday's Pocono 500 - won by Tony Stewart. Double-file restarts are now used in Sprint Cup, with the first and second-place drivers side-by-side for each restart. The leader has the option of using the inside or outside lane. Regardless, drivers in odd number spots will restart on the inside lane, with even number-spot drivers on the outside. This format will be used no matter how many laps remain in the race. The so-called "free pass" will be awarded throughout the race. Lapped cars which don't pit will be waved around the safety car, allowing the leaders to take the green without interference.
Also: Nine drivers combined for more than 1,200 laps of tire testing at Indianapolis to prepare for the July 26 Allstate 400. Goodyear officials were described as "pleased" with the results. There will be a final test June 15-16 with 12 drivers… Joey Saldana won Friday night's World of Outlaws feature at Lawrenceburg, Ind. Donny Schatz won at the same track Saturday… Robby Gordon won the Baja 500.
NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesPocono
qualifying was rained-out Friday so Tony Stewart earned the pole. But he wrecked in Saturday practice and had to go to a backup Chevrolet, at the rear of the field. Jeff Gordon started on the pole. Denny Hamlin lost power on the first lap for a yellow and Gordon chose the outside line for the first double-wide restart. Another yellow came on lap 13 when Hamlin stalled again. Carl Edwards' Ford got to the front on lap 38, from Jimmie Johnson. Stewart took the lead for the first time on lap 78 during a green-flag pit sequence. Edwards had to pit an extra time to make sure the gas tank was full just after halfway. Johnson was penalized for pitting too soon on a lap-103 debris yellow. David Stremme hit the wall. Jeff Gordon didn't pit during a brief rain shower with less than 50 laps to go and took the lead, but had to come in for gas just before the restart with 35 laps to go. Stewart was the leader and everyone was in fuel-conservation mode. Stewart slowed dramatically on the last lap and got to the line two seconds ahead of Edwards, followed by David Reutimann, Gordon and Ryan Newman. Johnson ran out of fuel after battling Edwards in turn one. He finished seventh. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 27th. Stewart became the first owner-driver to win a Cup race since Ricky Rudd did it at Martinsville in 1998. He averaged 138.515 mph with five yellows for 20 of the 200 laps. Reed Sorenson started 25th in the Valvoline Engine Guarantee Dodge Charger and finished 20th.
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Kyle Busch was a smash-hit in Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway. His Toyota led 173 of the 225 laps and beat Brad Keselowski's Chevrolet by .891 second. Carl Edwards was third. In victory lane, Busch smashed the guitar trophy on the ground because he said he wanted to give a piece of it to all his crewmembers. It didn't crack. Busch averaged 129.682 mph with four yellows for 24 laps. He tops Edwards by 65 points.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Todd Bodine became the first driver in series history to win five races at one track in Friday night's WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway. His Toyota took the lead on lap 125 of 167 and beat Matt Crafton's Chevrolet by 1.3 seconds. Colin Braun was third in a Ford. Ron Hornaday Jr. lost a lap due to a pit violation and finished 19th. Bodine averaged 153.133 mph with two yellows for 10 laps. Crafton is 30 points ahead of Hornaday.
IndyCar Series
Helio Castroneves got out of the pits ahead of Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe on a lap-175 pit stop and won Saturday night's Bombardier Learjet 550K at Texas. He led the rest of the way in the 228-lap event and got to the finish line .3904 second ahead of Briscoe. Scott Dixon was third. Castroneves averaged 172.677 mph with only three yellows for 26 laps. Briscoe is three points clear of Dixon.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Spencer Massey, driving for Don Prudhomme, got his first Top Fuel win in Sunday's United Association Route 66 Nationals in Chicagoland. Massey ran 3.856 seconds, 308.35 mph to best Antron Brown's 3.870, 301.54 mph. Brown moved 18 points ahead of Tony Schumacher. In Funny Car, Tony Pedregon went 4.114, 303.78 mph in a Chevy Impala to Ashley Force Hood's tire-smoking 7.780, 87.91 mph in a Ford Mustang. Jack Beckman qualified 15th in the Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger and lost in the first round. Ron Capps is 58 points clear of Pedregon. In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s Chevrolet Cobalt clocked 6.663, 207.30 mph as Mike Edwards left the starting line too soon in his Pontiac GXP. Ron Krisher qualified 15th in the Valvoline Cobalt and lost in the first round. Coughlin's margin over Edwards is 93 points. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Guidera's Buell had a 7.096, 181.79 mph pass to Eddie Krawiec's 7.189, 179.66 mph on a Harley. Krawiec leads Andrew Hines by 51 points.
Rolex Sports Car Series
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas got their first win of the season in Saturday's Sahlen's Six Hours at Watkins Glen. The seventh full-course yellow, when Robin Liddell spun, came in the closing minutes and forced the race to end under caution. Max Angelelli and Brad Frisselle were second in a Ford-Dallara. Those two plus the winners are tied for the Daytona Prototype points lead. Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard were third in a Porsche-Riley. The winner's averaged 105.201 with 22 of the 188 laps under yellow. Pruett and Rojas led 142 laps, including the last 35. In GT, Leh Keen and Dirk Werner won in a Porsche GT3.
Formula One
Jenson Button took his sixth victory in seven races this season in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul. His Brawn-Mercedes got around poleman Sebastian Vettel on the first lap and beat Mark Webber's Red Bull-Renault by 6.7 seconds. Vettel, Webber's teammate, was third. Button's teammate, Rubens Barrichello, didn't finish, so Jenson's championship ranking is 61 vs. 35 points.
Racer of the Week
Scott Pruett. The two-time Rolex Series champion dominated at Watkins Glen, then had to conserve fuel in the closing laps.
Yes, He REALLY Said That
David Reutimann, on owner Michael Waltrip holding an umbrella over him during rain delays at Charlotte. "Michael told me that he pays me enough that I can get my own umbrella."
This WeekendNASCAR's at Michigan, with Saturday Trucks and Sunday Cup. The Nationwide cars try Kentucky Saturday. Sports cars shine at Le Mans. NHRA runs in Ohio.
, as expected, made a rule change for Sunday's Pocono 500 - won by Tony Stewart. Double-file restarts are now used in Sprint Cup, with the first and second-place drivers side-by-side for each restart. The leader has the option of using the inside or outside lane. Regardless, drivers in odd number spots will restart on the inside lane, with even number-spot drivers on the outside. This format will be used no matter how many laps remain in the race. The so-called "free pass" will be awarded throughout the race. Lapped cars which don't pit will be waved around the safety car, allowing the leaders to take the green without interference.
Also: Nine drivers combined for more than 1,200 laps of tire testing at Indianapolis to prepare for the July 26 Allstate 400. Goodyear officials were described as "pleased" with the results. There will be a final test June 15-16 with 12 drivers… Joey Saldana won Friday night's World of Outlaws feature at Lawrenceburg, Ind. Donny Schatz won at the same track Saturday… Robby Gordon won the Baja 500.
NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesPocono
qualifying was rained-out Friday so Tony Stewart earned the pole. But he wrecked in Saturday practice and had to go to a backup Chevrolet, at the rear of the field. Jeff Gordon started on the pole. Denny Hamlin lost power on the first lap for a yellow and Gordon chose the outside line for the first double-wide restart. Another yellow came on lap 13 when Hamlin stalled again. Carl Edwards' Ford got to the front on lap 38, from Jimmie Johnson. Stewart took the lead for the first time on lap 78 during a green-flag pit sequence. Edwards had to pit an extra time to make sure the gas tank was full just after halfway. Johnson was penalized for pitting too soon on a lap-103 debris yellow. David Stremme hit the wall. Jeff Gordon didn't pit during a brief rain shower with less than 50 laps to go and took the lead, but had to come in for gas just before the restart with 35 laps to go. Stewart was the leader and everyone was in fuel-conservation mode. Stewart slowed dramatically on the last lap and got to the line two seconds ahead of Edwards, followed by David Reutimann, Gordon and Ryan Newman. Johnson ran out of fuel after battling Edwards in turn one. He finished seventh. Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 27th. Stewart became the first owner-driver to win a Cup race since Ricky Rudd did it at Martinsville in 1998. He averaged 138.515 mph with five yellows for 20 of the 200 laps. Reed Sorenson started 25th in the Valvoline Engine Guarantee Dodge Charger and finished 20th.
NASCAR Nationwide Series
Kyle Busch was a smash-hit in Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway. His Toyota led 173 of the 225 laps and beat Brad Keselowski's Chevrolet by .891 second. Carl Edwards was third. In victory lane, Busch smashed the guitar trophy on the ground because he said he wanted to give a piece of it to all his crewmembers. It didn't crack. Busch averaged 129.682 mph with four yellows for 24 laps. He tops Edwards by 65 points.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Todd Bodine became the first driver in series history to win five races at one track in Friday night's WinStar World Casino 400k at Texas Motor Speedway. His Toyota took the lead on lap 125 of 167 and beat Matt Crafton's Chevrolet by 1.3 seconds. Colin Braun was third in a Ford. Ron Hornaday Jr. lost a lap due to a pit violation and finished 19th. Bodine averaged 153.133 mph with two yellows for 10 laps. Crafton is 30 points ahead of Hornaday.
IndyCar Series
Helio Castroneves got out of the pits ahead of Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe on a lap-175 pit stop and won Saturday night's Bombardier Learjet 550K at Texas. He led the rest of the way in the 228-lap event and got to the finish line .3904 second ahead of Briscoe. Scott Dixon was third. Castroneves averaged 172.677 mph with only three yellows for 26 laps. Briscoe is three points clear of Dixon.
NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
Spencer Massey, driving for Don Prudhomme, got his first Top Fuel win in Sunday's United Association Route 66 Nationals in Chicagoland. Massey ran 3.856 seconds, 308.35 mph to best Antron Brown's 3.870, 301.54 mph. Brown moved 18 points ahead of Tony Schumacher. In Funny Car, Tony Pedregon went 4.114, 303.78 mph in a Chevy Impala to Ashley Force Hood's tire-smoking 7.780, 87.91 mph in a Ford Mustang. Jack Beckman qualified 15th in the Valvoline/MTS Dodge Charger and lost in the first round. Ron Capps is 58 points clear of Pedregon. In Pro Stock, Jeg Coughlin Jr.'s Chevrolet Cobalt clocked 6.663, 207.30 mph as Mike Edwards left the starting line too soon in his Pontiac GXP. Ron Krisher qualified 15th in the Valvoline Cobalt and lost in the first round. Coughlin's margin over Edwards is 93 points. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Matt Guidera's Buell had a 7.096, 181.79 mph pass to Eddie Krawiec's 7.189, 179.66 mph on a Harley. Krawiec leads Andrew Hines by 51 points.
Rolex Sports Car Series
Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas got their first win of the season in Saturday's Sahlen's Six Hours at Watkins Glen. The seventh full-course yellow, when Robin Liddell spun, came in the closing minutes and forced the race to end under caution. Max Angelelli and Brad Frisselle were second in a Ford-Dallara. Those two plus the winners are tied for the Daytona Prototype points lead. Romain Dumas and Timo Bernhard were third in a Porsche-Riley. The winner's averaged 105.201 with 22 of the 188 laps under yellow. Pruett and Rojas led 142 laps, including the last 35. In GT, Leh Keen and Dirk Werner won in a Porsche GT3.
Formula One
Jenson Button took his sixth victory in seven races this season in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul. His Brawn-Mercedes got around poleman Sebastian Vettel on the first lap and beat Mark Webber's Red Bull-Renault by 6.7 seconds. Vettel, Webber's teammate, was third. Button's teammate, Rubens Barrichello, didn't finish, so Jenson's championship ranking is 61 vs. 35 points.
Racer of the Week
Scott Pruett. The two-time Rolex Series champion dominated at Watkins Glen, then had to conserve fuel in the closing laps.
Yes, He REALLY Said That
David Reutimann, on owner Michael Waltrip holding an umbrella over him during rain delays at Charlotte. "Michael told me that he pays me enough that I can get my own umbrella."
This WeekendNASCAR's at Michigan, with Saturday Trucks and Sunday Cup. The Nationwide cars try Kentucky Saturday. Sports cars shine at Le Mans. NHRA runs in Ohio.
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